The Washington critic., 1887-02-17

guilt or innocence than he does him.
self Besides, the state pays the cN'
pcnscs for defending impecunious vlo-
lators of It's laws, and such thing as
punishing man free of cost to the
State Is unhea,d of in criminal iuris.
prudence.
TnE bill which recently passed Con-
gross TO enable thn Commissioner of
Agriculture to make special distribu.
tion of seeds in the drought.strickcn
counties of Texas, and authorizing an
appropriation of $4,000 for this pur
pose, was returned to the Capitol by
the President yesterday, with mes
sage Of disapproval, The reasons of
his action are ooncisely stated in the
following paragraph:
can find no warrant for such an np9roprl-
alton In the Constitution; ind | do not be.
lieye that the power and duty Of the General
Government ought to he extended TO the re-
lief OF Individual suffering which Is In no
manner properly related TO tho public service
or benefit. \ prevalent tendency to disrc-
gard the limited mission Of this power ami
to the end that the lesson should be con.
stantly enforced that though the people sup.
| port the Government, the Government should
not support the people.
The veto will be generally approved
and takes its place among the best OF
Mr.. Clcy,aud's State papers. Some
thing of the kind was imperatively
needed TO check the growing tendency
Of Congress to favor the legi'l ItlOn Of
Government aid to local charities; and
this was perhaps as good m oppor-
mnity as any other, the more so be-
cause It was not ~ Ill beGomin Ia Tie
great State Of Texas to request the ap'
pfoprialion. There will be no doIbt
cheerful compliance. huwcvcr, with
the Presidents excellent uGgeslion
that the needs OF Tcyls be suppl 4 hF
voluntary contributions from the
shares Of grain allotted by the Depart
ment to other States,
THE amcndmcnttol the River and lIar.
bor bill, which authorizes Captain John
Cowden to construc, his Lake Borgnc
outlet for the waters of the Mississippi,
is no more than fair recognition of
what many persons believe to be
feasible scheme. aud 10 which Captain
Cowden has devoted years of patient
and uurcward,d Investigation. He
asks nothing of the Government in ad
vance. Ii will cost the Government
nothing to have him make the expert
mcnt If 1t proves a success, it can
afford to pay handsomely for the final
solution Of long veXed problem.
THr striking feature of this weeks
Puck is an editorial article on the text
book system and the marking sys.
TEN" of our American schools, both
public and private, with an illustrative
cartoon, showing little girls progress
from primer to diploma, under the
forcing process which the school book
| publishers and their allies have sue
cecded in establishing. 1t is forceful
illustration of twin evils by which thor
oughness of Instruction and too often
the health and hopes of the young are
sacrificed TO the prodigious profit of
the text book trade.
NINETEEN of the twenty counties in
Kentucky represented by Congressman
Taulbee publish no newspapers within
their bord ers, and the remaining one
boasts of two weeklies. The New
York district represented by Editor
Cummings, Member elect, has IS
dailies, 1877 weekies and 45J periodi-
Gals. The Democratic vote is very
nearly The same in each district.
IT will strike most any sagacious
observer that the Republicans in Con.
gress are laying their plans to make all
the campaign capital possible out of
the Dependent Pension bill, and some
of our Democratic friends are in n
most distressing quandory-between
the devil and the deep SEA, as it were,
Mr.. PowDERLY Is taking strong
grounds against boycotts, and says the
best thing TO do with boycott notices is
TO burn them. lie "hates the word 4"
If the Master Workman's authority
were as absolute as his head is level
the abuse would soon cease.
/